Vote "YES" for Oregon With Us in January!

PSJ is asking you to vote "Yes!" in January on Measures 66 & 67. We’re part of Vote Yes for Oregon, a coalition of non-profits for tax fairness, and we're asking you to take the Plus-10 Challenge. Think you can get ten of your friends and neighbors to vote “Yes!” in January with you? We bet you can!

On January 26, Oregon voters will decide whether to keep funding for important services like education, healthcare and public safety. By voting "Yes!" and asking your friends and neighbors to do the same, you can make a big difference.

The measures will raise the corporate minimum income tax from $10 to $150 and raise marginal income tax on only the richest of Oregonians. The vast majority of us--98%--won't be affected at all.

Why does PSJ care about tax measures? We know we can save money, save lives, and prevent crime by investing in programs like drug and alcohol treatment programs. We worked hard during this legislative session to prevent drastic cuts to treatment services and the Oregon Domestic and Sexual Violence Services Fund, among other things. Oregon cannot afford $800 million more in cuts. Additionally, Oregon's revenues are falling short by $600 million. That means it's more important than ever to vote "Yes!" to protect vital services from debilitating cuts.

Here are some of the ways that state programs benefit PSJ members:
Schools: Our children go to public schools, and many of us are enrolled in state universities and community colleges, or want to enroll after we get out of prison. All levels of education will face cuts if the measures don’t pass.
Healthcare: Oregon just expanded access to the Oregon Health Plan for more of our children. Expansion of OHP also brings more federal money into the state. Cuts to OHP result in deep losses of federal matching funds.
Alcohol and Drug Treatment Services: State tax dollars fund outpatient and residential drug and alcohol treatment programs, prevention programs, methadone maintenance programs, and more. These programs prevent crime and save lives. We need to expand them, not cut them.
Services for Survivors of Crime and Violence: The Oregon Domestic and Sexual Violence Services Fund funds shelters, batterer intervention programs, hotlines, and more. These and other survivor services save lives.
Transition Programs: Programs that help people find housing, jobs, access to healthcare and treatment, and that help reunite families, rely on state funding.
Roads: Whether we bike, drive or ride the bus, we all use roads, and we all hate potholes. State taxes keep our roads safe.

What can I do?
• E-mail Erika (erika@safetyandjustice.org) or call 503-335-8449 to sign the pledge. We’ll send you the pledge form.
• Ask your family, friends, and co-workers to sign the pledge. This is incredibly important. Most people don’t know there’s a vote in January. You’re providing critical information to people you know about ballot measures that will determine Oregon’s future. Providing your contact information on the pledge form helps PSJ and Vote Yes for Oregon know to whom to send mailings and who to call. People who pledge to vote "Yes!" to tax fairness will get fewer calls and fewer pieces of mail. Now that’s an incentive!
• Return your pledge form to PSJ.

What’s the best way to reach out to my friends and neighbors?
• E-mail: It’s quick, easy and painless, especially if you use this sample e-mail (downloadable as a Word document)!
• Phone: Connect with a friend you haven’t had the chance to talk to in awhile, and while you’re at it, encourage them to sign the pledge. You can meet for coffee or tell them to contact PSJ.
• Door-to-door: Instead of selling Girl Scout cookies, think of this as selling the truth about tax fairness in Oregon to your neighbors. It’s just as sweet!

How should I get the message across?
Here are some suggestions and talking points to get you started:
• If you’re not sure how to start the conversation, start by asking if your friend knows there will be a vote in January. If she doesn’t, tell her there will only be two measures on the ballot, and they both have to do with tax fairness.
• Try using a good “hook," like “Did you know that corporations like Macy’s only pay $10 in income tax in Oregon? We have the chance to change that in a special election in January.”
• Ask your friend to sign the Defend Oregon pledge. This will help make sure Vote Yes for Oregon can focus its efforts. Remember, that means your friend will receive less mail and fewer calls in the lead-up to the election.
• Most importantly, this is a “Yes!” campaign. If you leave your friend with one piece of information, it should be to vote “Yes!” in January. We can send you an informational flyer to leave with your friend.

Once you have your friend’s attention, you can give her the facts of January’s measures:
• Many corporations in Oregon pay only $10 in state income tax. The new measure will still require them to pay only $150.
• With the new measures, the richest of Oregonians will see a slight marginal tax increase. 98% of Oregonians won’t be affected by the new measures.
• These small increases add up to about $800 million of funding for services like education, healthcare and public safety that will be lost if we don't vote "Yes!" Come February, legislators will be slashing budgets for those important services if the ballot measures don’t pass.

Not everyone will know about the measures, and some people will be skeptical of new taxes. Here are some of the most common concerns and how we should respond to them:

If corporate taxes are raised, won’t big companies leave Oregon and take jobs with them?
If big companies left, they would pay much higher taxes in any other state. Oregon has one of the lowest tax rates in the country, and still will if we pass the measures, so it’s in everyone’s best interest if corporations stay in Oregon.

Won’t we have to pay more for groceries and gas if corporate taxes are raised?
Oregon will still have the lowest tax rates on the West coast. The marginal tax rate will be raised by only 1.3% on the biggest corporations that qualify. That’s not a big enough difference for the consumer to see at the grocery store or the gas station. Corn flakes cost the same in Oregon as they do in Washington where corporate taxes are five times as high. 

Will small businesses be hurt by the new taxes?
Most small businesses will have to pay a flat tax of only $150 under the new measure. This is the only change 93% of small businesses will see.

Does the legislature need voters to pass these taxes in order to have a balanced budget and pay for services?
Absolutely. The recession is hurting everyone, including the government. And when the government can’t balance its budget with additional revenue, government-funded services, like education, healthcare and public safety, suffer.

I never know whether to vote “yes” or “no” on ballot measures. How should I vote if I want to protect services in Oregon?
Vote yes and yes!

If you’re interested in getting more involved, visit Vote Yes for Oregon to learn about volunteer and canvassing opportunities. If you have questions, e-mail Erika (erika@safetyandjustice.org) or call 503-335-8449.